This time last year, Darren Brady, a fellow coach and group facilitator and myself started running a series of workshops inspired by ‘The Velvet Rage‘. Our collaboration gave birth to ‘The Quest‘ and to date we have had over 60 people attend our workshops.

Later this year, The Quest will be publishing an anthology comprising the stories of gay men reflecting on their lives, and some of the experiences that have shaped the person that they are today.

The contributors in the book, are men who have been on workshops run by The Quest. Sharing their stories gave each of them the opportunity to explore and heal some of the wounds of their past and in doing so, give the reader a bird’s eye view of the key moments that shape the lives of so many gay men.

As one contributor put it, “[It] was a wonderful way of getting some closure on all the years I spent thinking that there was ‘something wrong with me’ and that ‘I wasn’t good enough’, before I embarked on my new life in the sunshine. In many ways, it felt like I was coming home to myself and taking the best of me out here in the knowledge that I was ALWAYS alright and good enough“.

The book is titled ‘Love Me As I AM – gay men reflect on their lives’. All profits gained from the sale of the book, by The Quest, will be donated to the charity, Diversity Role Models. The charity actively seeks to prevent homophobic bullying in United Kingdom schools; it aims to stop bullying before it happens, by educating all young people about differences in sexuality and gender identity.

To find out more about the book and to follow its journey, click here.